Garment hangers



May 11, 1965 R. R. WARD 3,182,870-

GARMENT HANGERS Filed Feb. 27, 1962 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 I /6 20 I 24 /7 l INVENTOR. F/VYNO/VD WHRD May 11, 1965 R. R. WARD GARMENT muemns 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 27, 1962 INV ENT OR. Ray/vow: A. W/ma BY 3,182,870 GARWNT HANGERS Raymond R. Ward, 6548 Edgerton Road, North Royalton, Ohio Filed Feb. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 175,931 2 Claims. (Cl. 223-91) This invention relates to garment hangers or the like and more particularly to improved suspension means for trousers or other articles made of cloth which are adapted to be draped fiatwise across a horizontal supporting member when not in use.

An inexpensive and widely used garment hanger of the type referred to comprises a triangular device manufactured from relatively heavy wire having a straight horizontal portion for draping flat articles thereover and being provided with symmetrical, upwardly converging portions adapted to support a coat or similar piece of wearing apparel. The wire garment hanger is provided with a hook portion for attaching the. same to any suitable support. This type of garment hanger is well known and widely used' by garment cleaning establishments and in the home.

The conventional wire hanger has certain inherent defects which have not been successfully overcome.' For example, the horizontal portion tends to form an unsightly crease in the garment hung thereover, particularly if the garment is allowed to hang for a substantial length of time. This is caused by the relatively small diameter of the wire from which the hanger is manufactured. Another defect in this type of hanger is that the article draped'thereover tends to slip off of the horizontal portion if one end of said article is heavier than the other. Hangers of this type are also subject to bending and sagging at the horizontal portion which causes a garment hung thereon to become disarranged.

An important object of this invention is to provide means for improving the supporting characteristics of a conventional wire garment hanger Without modifying or deforming the hanger itself.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved garment hanger of the above type which will sup port an article of clothing or the like without creasing the material.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an 'United States Patent Chloe improved garment hanger of the above type which provides means for holding the article in place on the hanger with a force which tends to increase with an increase in the weight of the garment.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a garment hanger having the above characteristics wherein the horizontal supporting portion of the hanger has greatly increased strength and wherein the entire hanger is sufficiently reinforced against bending or sagging due to the weight of garments or other articles hung thereon.

Otherobjects of this invention and the invention itself will be readily understood from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which said drawings; FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a first embodiment of the improved garment hanger of this inventionshowing a pair of trousers supported thereby; V

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the garment hanger as seen from the left hand side of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a view taken generally along the line 3-.-3. of FIG.1; FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken generally along the line44 oil- 16.3; g p FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the parts of the garment hangerv of this invention inrelatively different positions; I p p i FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a supporting bar of the garment hanger of FIG. 1;

. of the ends thereof. The lip 23 is positioned fiatwise in 3,182,870 Patented May 1-1, 1965 garment 8 showing a third modification of the garment supporting bar; and

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing the garment hanger of this invention incorporating the modified bar of FIG. 11.

Referring now to the drawings in all of which like parts are designated by like reference characters, FIG. 1 shows a garment hanger generally indicated at 10 having a frame which comprises a horizontal member 11, upwardly converging, symmetrical, shoulder-engaging arms 12 and 13, and a hook 14 extending upwardly from the upper ends of said arms. The entire hanger frame is formed from a single length of wire which is joined adjacent the ends thereof just below the hook 14 as indicated at 15. At this point, the ends of the wire are twisted together to form a rigid shank for the hook 14 which is formed by one end of the wire which extends upwardly above the twisted or shank portion. The arms 12 and 13 are joined at the lowermost ends thereof by curved end portions 16, and 17 respectively to the horizontal member 11.

The garment hanger 10 is provided with a garment supporting bar 20 which is positioned generally immediately above the horizontal member 11 in parallel relation to said horizontal member. The supporting bar 20 may be manufactured of plastic, wood metal or other suitable material and is preferably generally circular in cross section having a substantially larger diameter than said horizontal member 11. The supporting bar is provided at the ends thereof with retainers 21 and 22 in the form of finger-like projections which extend from the ends of said supporting bar parallel with the axial direction of the bar itself. As herein illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6, the retainers 21 and 22 are fiat, tongue-like members disposed fiatwise in a vertical plane passing through the axis of said bar, said retainers being located adjacent the upper portion of the annular surface of said bar. Said retainers 21-22 project outwardly beyond the curved end portions 16-17 respectively whereby said supporting bar is normally prevented from passing through the triangular opening which is formed by the arms 12 and 13 and the horizontal member 11.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 4 and 6, the gar-- ment supporting bar 20 is also provided with an elongated, flat, downwardly directed lip 23 which extends throughout the length of said bar to within a short distance parallel relation to the retainers 21 and 22 with the front face of said lip being'tangential with the forwardmost portion of the annular surface of the 'bar. The lip 23 is connected to the bar 20 along one of its longer sides and is of such width that it hangs downwardly a substantial distance below the horizontal member 11 when the retainers 21 and 22 are seated behind the curved end portions 16-17 respectively.

The bar 20, as herein illustrated, is provided with oppositely disposed, longi-tudinal'grooves 24 in the sides thereof which may be incorporated in the bar to lighten the weight thereof. It has been found that these lightening grooves may be used Without materially sacrificing strength in the bar 29 with aresultant savingin both weight and material.

Means is also provided in the lip 23 whereby the garment supporting bar of the first embodiment may be attachedto the hanger frame at the horizontal member 11 when the hanger is not in use. This means comprises an obliquely directed, open-end slot 25 in the lip 23 which is positioned adjacent one end of said lip and is angled inwardly and longitudinally in the general direction of the adjacent end of said lip. The slot 25 opens into the lower longitudinal edge of the lip 23 thereby forming a hook in the lip by which the garment supporting bar may be attached to the hanger frame in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 7. The lip is hooked over the horizontal member 11 generally intermediate the curved ends 16 and 17 when the hanger is not in use for draping a flat garment thereover,.and the result is that the garment supporting bar is conveniently available to the user at all times. a

As illustratedin FIGS. 14, a garment such as a pair of trousers T is draped over the supporting bar 20 with all of said garment passing in front'of the horizontal member 11 and with the lip 23 also positioned in front of said horizontal member. The weight of the garment T causes the bar to tend to rotate or pivot and be pulled toward the frame whereby the retainers 21 and 22 are seated firmly behind the ends 16 and 17 respectively of the hanger; between the supporting bar 20 and the horizontal member 11' is indicated at X in FIG. 4, said fold passing down wardly behind the lip 23. The other fold of the garment hangs downwardly in front of said lip; The clamped portion X of the garment T assures that said garment will not slip off of'said supporting bar since the garment is frictionally held at this point. If, therefore, one fold of the garment is heavier than the other, said garment is still securely held by the garment hanger 10. It Will also be noted that the weight of the garment T tends to pull the supporting bar downwardly more firmly against the horizontal member 11 to insure the proper clamping action at X; It will be readily seen that the heavier the garment is, the tighter will be the consequent clamping action. A The lip 23 of the garment supporting bar serves a multiple function. Said lip serves to stifien and strengthen the bar thereby enabling it to support increased weights. Said lip also aids in seating the bar within the loop'of the hanger frame.

By referring to FIG. 5, it will be notedv that the lip 23 is also adapted to servestill another purpose. In the previously referred to FIG. 4, the lip 23 was so positioned that it projected downwardly flatwise in a vertical plane thereby allowing the horizontal member 11 to be positioned closely adjacent the bottom of the bar 20 with most of saidbar projecting rearwardly beyond the vertical plane of the wire frame. This arrangement provides the maximum clamping action since the material of the garment is most sharply angled at X and most closely held against the bar 20. .However, FIG. shows a use of the bar 20 wherein said bar has been rotated or turned 180 in a horizontal plane whereby the garment is clamped between the horizontal member 11 and the lip 23 instead of between said horizontal member and the bar itself. 'In this use, the lip 23 assumes a downwardly oblique angle and the clamped portion of the garment fold indicated at X isangled less sharply than the clamped portion X of FIG. 4. This position of the bar as shown in FIG. 5 is useful for lighter or more delicate garments wherein extra precautions must be ,takengto prevent creasing the material. With. most materials and mo st garments, the arrangement of FIG. 4 would be most satisfactory and would, of course, provide the maximum retention.

Because of its relatively larger diameter and the reinforcing eifect of the lip 23, the supporting bar 20 is not readily subject to bending and'the garment hanger will, there-fore, support heavier articles than a wire hanger normally could. The inherent flexibility of the wire horizontal memberll causes said member to press resiliently Up- One fold of the garment T is thereby clamped.

wardly against the adjacent garment without excessive pressure regardless of the weight of said garment. The clamping action of the supporting bar 20 and the horizontal member 11 also prevents lateral disarrangement of the garment T such as might occur in'the handling of a loaded hanger 10. The clamping action prevents the garment from sliding toward one end of the hanger thereby unbalancing the load on said hanger causing subsequent wrinkling and mussing of the garment.

In mounting a garment T upon the improved hanger of this invention, said garment is first draped over the supporting bar 29 at approximately the mid-point of the garment. The supporting bar 20 is angled relative to the wire frame of the hanger in such manner that said bar can then pass obliquely through the loop formed by the arms '12 and I3 and the horizontal member 11. In this manner, said supporting bar is maneuvered whereby both of the retainers 21 and 22 are positioned behind the ends 16 and 17 with the garment T hanging in front of the horizontal member 11. As pointed out above, said supporting bar may be either in the position of FIG. 4 or that of FIG. 5. When the garment T and the supporting bar 29 are released, the weight of said garment holds the retainers 21 and 22 firmly seated against the looped end portions 16 and 17 thereby preventing said supporting bar from moving through the frame in a forward direction. The garment is thus firmly held in place for purposes of storage and the like. It will be understood that a coat or coatlike garment may also be draped over the arms 12 and 13 in a conventionalmanner if so desired.

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate a second form or embodiment of the present invention. The changes are in the garment supporting bar alone, and it will be understood that the bar illustrated in the second embodiment is used with the hanger frame of the first embodiment.

The second embodiment comprises a preferably generally cylindrical bar 30 having longitudinally extending retainers 31- and 32 projecting from the ends thereof. As well shown in FIG. 9, each retainer is positioned lat erally of a plane extending vertically through the axis of the bar adjacent a side portion of the annular surface of said bar. A downwardly projecting lip 33 is provided which projects downwardly from the center of the bar or in coplanar relation with the above mentioned vertical plane which extends through the axis of the bar. Means is also provided in the lip 33 whereby the garment supporting bar of the second embodiment may be attached to the hanger frame at the horizontal member 11 when the hanger is not in use. This means comprises an obliquely directed, open-end slot 35 in the lip 33 which is positioned adjacent one end of said lip and is angled inwardly and longitudinally in the same manner as the slot 25 of the bar 29. 7

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the garment supporting bar of the second embodiment is positioned within the hanger frame in the same manner as the bar shown in the first embodiment. The retainers 31 and 32 are seated behind the curved end portions 16-47 of the hanger frame, and the lip 33 projects downwardly in front of the horizontal member '11. A gar-ment T is draped over the bar 39 with one told of said garment passing between the bar 30 and the horizontal member 11 and extending downwardly therefrom behind the lip 33. The clamping action against the garment T is substantially the same in principle and effect as that described in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7. A third embodiment of'the present invention is illlustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 shows a perspective view. of abar 40 having retainers 41 and tz-extending from the ends thereof in the same manner and in the same position asvthe retainers21- and 22 of the first embodiment. The embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12 is similar to the first embodiment with the exception that no downwardly projecting lip or longitudinal grooves are provided. As illustrated in FIG. 12, a garment T is Both folds of the garment hang downwardly in front of the hori- 1 zontal member 11 as in the previous embodiments and a clamping action is eifected between said horizontal memher and the bar 40.

It will be understood that the distinguishing elements of the different embodiments may be combined if so desired. For example, the retainers 21 and 22 of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1-7) may be used in combination with the bar 30 and the centrally located lip- 33 of the second embodiment (FIGS. 8-10). Also, the lightening grooves 24 of said first embodiment may be incorporated in any of the .bars 20, 30, or 40. Similarly, the retainers 3'1 and 32 of the second embodiment may be used in either the first embodiment or the third embodiment (FIGS. 11 and 12), and the second embodiment may be made without any lip but with the retainers 31 and 32 positioned as shown.

In each of the embodiments herein illustrated or in garment hangers embodying the combination of elements as hereinabove suggested, the garment is supported upon a bar of sufiicient diametric dimension to prevent creasing of the article hung thereon and is prevented from slipping oflf of the supporting bar by means of the clamping action as described in detail above. .The result is a unique gar-' ment hanging means of simple construction which is highly effective in use.

It will be understood that many departures from the details of this invention as herein illustrated and described may be made without, however, departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed'isz 1. In combination with a conventional wire garment hanger having a horizontal cross member and upwardly turned end portions,an elongated garment supporting bar having a longitudinal dimension smaller than the distance between said end portions, longitudinally directed extensions carried at the ends of said bar and extending therebeyond sufliciently to overlap said end portions, said extensions being stepped laterally inwardly of at least one longitudinal side surface of said bar whereby a portion of said bar fits between said end portions above said cross member with said extensions overlapping said end portions on one side of said hanger and retaining said bar against lateral movement between said end portions toward the other side of said hanger, said step afiiording longitudinally facing surface portions at the ends of said bar which are aligned with said end portions and prevent substantial longitudinal movement of said bar, a lip projecting from said supporting bar throughout substantially the length of said bar and projecting downwardly in front of said cross member on said other side of said hanger, said bar adapted to receive a garment draped flatwise th-ereover with both folds of the garment depending in front of said cross member, said lip depending in front of said cross member between the folds, and the weight of said garment pulling said bar downwardly against said cross member and seating said extensions against said end portions.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1; said lip having an open-end slot adjacent to one end of said lip whereby said supporting bar is adapted to be hooked over said horizontal cross member to attach said supporting bar to 'said garment hanger when not in use.

References fitted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 551,658 12/95 Taesohner 223-91 872,488 12/07 Wheary 223-91 1,665,983 -4/2-8= Rose 223-98 2,486,749 11/49 Marks 22391 2,488,621 11/49 Finnell 223--91 2,490,201 12/ 49 Brown 22391 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. THOMAS J. HICKEY, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A CONVENTIONAL WIRE GARMENT HANGER HAVING A HORIZONTAL CROSS MEMBER AND UPWARDLY TURNED END PORTIONS, AN ELONGATED GARMENT SUPPORTING BAR HAVING A LONGITUDINAL DIMENSION SMALLER THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID END PORTIONS, LONGITUDINALLY DIRECTED EXTENSIONS CARRIED AT THE ENDS OF SAID BAR AND EXTENDING THEREBEYOND SUFFICIENTLY TO OVERLAP SAID END PORTIONS, SAID EXTENSIONS BEING STEPPED LATERALLY INWARDLY OF AT LEAST ONE LONGITUDINAL SIDE SURFACE OF SAID BAR WHEREBY A PORTION OF SAID BAR FITS BETWEEN SAID END PORTIONS ABOVE SAID CROSS MEMBER WITH SAID EXTENSIONS OVERLAPPING SAID END PORTIONS ON ONE SIDE OF SAID HANGER AND RETAINING SAID BAR AGAINST LATERAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID END PORTIONS TOWARD THE OTHER OF SAID HANGER, SAID STEP AFFORDING LONGITUDINALLY FACING SURFACE PORTIONS AT THE ENDS OF SAID BAR WHICH ARE ALIGNED WITH SAID END PORTIONS AND PREVENT SUBSTANTIAL LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID BAR, A LIP PROJECTING FROM SAID SUPPORTING BAR THROUGH SUBSTANTIALLY THE LENGTH OF SAID BAR AND PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY IN FRONT OF SAID CROSS MEMBER ON SAID OTHER SIDE OF SAID HANGER, SAID BAR ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A GARMENT DRAPED FLATWISE TTHEREOVER WITH BOTH FOLDS OF THE GARMENT DEPENDING IN FRONT OF SAID CROSS MEMBER, SAID LIP DEPENDING IN FRONT OF SAID CROSS MEMBER BETWEEN THE FOLDS, AND THE WEIGHT OF SAID GARMENT PULLING SAID BAR DOWNWARDLY AGAINST SAID CROSS MEMBER AND SEATING SAID EXTENSIONS AGAINST SAID END PORTIONS. 